I was intending to surprise Greg with a great Sunday brunch when he foiled my plans and awoke early. Actually, I foiled my own and slept in. All was not lost, I put him to work on baked grits while I made these lovely bacon, egg and toast cups from Joanne over at Fifteen Spatulas. The only change I made was using pancetta, because we had four thick slices in our fridge that needed to be used. My only suggestions for those who try this at home, and Joanne has an entire video on this that’s worth a watch, are to watch your cooking time and if you have an old muffin tin put a tiny bit of grease on the bottom to help get the cups out. (The bacon on the side will slide out easily enough as you can imagine, but the toast may need help if you don’t have a nonstick pan.) Ovens can vary quite a lot. Our cups were done in 13 minutes, while hers took around 20. Our oven had been on awhile, because we baked the grits first. All but one of our egg yolks was still runny, so we consider that a huge success.

Speaking of Joanne: She recently accepted the seven links challenge and passed it onto the Rufus blog. Nia, of Photography of Nia, did awhile back too. Greg accepted the challenge awhile back and his answers are here. To the best of my knowledge, he still doesn’t have a favorite color. But Joanne posed another question on Facebook.

Ah, to answer that let me take you back to Camelot, a bar in San Marcos, Calif., in December 2000. Greg and a bloke I worked with were making a wager: Which middle name is worse? French or Rufus? Not knowing, Greg was trying to win the honor of having the worst middle name, I voted for French and against Rufus. Yep, I voted against the man I’d marry three years later. He still won by a landslide. So there you have it. Rufus, a family name by the way, is Greg’s middle name. Little did he know when he started the guide that no one would know that. We figured only family members would read it. Let’s face it, Greg’s Food and Spirits Guide just wouldn’t have the same ring.

Also a special note to Just a Smidgen and Jereme’s Kitchen for singling the site out for the Versatile Blogger Award. Our previous picks are here. And thanks to Fati’s Recipes and Happy Domesticity and A Cap A Day for the Liebster Awards. We’ve grown past 200 subscribers, one of the requirements to accept the award, which makes us very thankful. But we did accept the award previously. In any case, it’s quite flattering to get such messages when we log on, especially considering the quality of the blogs who passed them on.

Update: Just got word that Serious Food for the Soul also gave the blog The Versatile Blogger Award. Check out the blog and the Facebook page.

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About Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

This blog attempts to collect some of the things I try to create with food and booze. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail. My hope is to entertain and maybe help people think a little harder about what they decide to eat and drink.

YAY!!!!! Thanks for linking to my recipe and my video! The pancetta is brilliant…I need to try that soon too! My muffin tin is uncoated (not nonstick) but it’s also a very thick, heavy new pan and doesn’t have any sticking issues so far, but that’s very smart to grease it a bit first!!! And thanks for answering the Rufus thing. Curious me! I was just confused because I knew it was Greg, but then people would call him Rufus LOL…and I was like, huh???

PS I would love to see your recipe for baked grits! My husband makes them on the stovetop, but baked grits sounds like a great alternative!

You’re quite welcome. I think the bacon would be easier to work with, more flexible. But when you have pancetta… we’ll post the baked grits recipe soon. I love your blog by the way and the videos are so helpful.

Your Pancetta, egg and toast cups look amazing Katherine. And did I see grits written above? Ahhh grits.. I will be eating these tomorrow morning. I can’t wait. Congrats on the awards,, you know I think you deserve every award anyone has to offer. And I always wondered where Rufus came from.. Ahh now I know hos middle name lol. Great story

Finally the Rufus explanation! I think Rufus is a gorgeous name, my Rufus agrees, some people have no taste!! Thanks for the link too, have great Sunday both of you!! I have a completely unrelated question: are you on .org or .com? I can’t get my facebook thing in the side bar, it keeps saying couldn’t find the hrml or something, I am cluless but did you just copy and paste the url at the top of your facebook page Into the widget?

Congratulations for all your awards, you both deserve them. Your pancetta, egg and toast seem so delicious dear Katherine, made me hugnry now! At the beginning (of my meeting with this beautiful blog of yours) I was calling him always dear “Rufus”… But then I noticed that his name was Greg. And yes, as some of members, I was wondering too about the name Rufus. This is a great story, I loved it. Thank you for you both that you share with us such a beautiful recipes and photographs,… It is something that I feel, you open your own kitchen for us and I can taste whatever I like… I call you both in my own and humble world, you are my kitchen angels! Blessing and Happiness for you all and for your beautiful blog, with my love, nia

I made egg cups back in March using prosciutto because the pancetta I bought was too ‘holey’ that day. Yours look amazing. What’s really great is adding stuff beneth the egg along with the cheese. I made a creamy leek – bell pepper saute a few times, and a wild mushroom – shallot duxelle. The possibilities are endless with these!🙂

Enjoyed the story of Rufus. I know a lot of people who cringe when their middle name is revealed. Or they won’t tell anyone what it is. Who knew that such a distinctive name would come in handy with the blog naming? It is eye catching!
And runny eggs in a toasty cup would be perfect just about now. Mmmmmm. Congrats on all the well deserved blog awards.

Congratulations on your latest awards! My friend Kim also has her Mother’s family name as her middle name: Walker! Mine would have been just too weird: Ledwina!
We can buy pancetta rounds here in Toronto, and if you bake them crisp on a cookie sheet, the edges curl up into a bowl! I use them to serve scallops in, a little twist on bacon wrapped scallops! My Mom used to do the eggs with baloney. You fry up the baloney and the edges shrink up to shape it into a bowl too! Very fun.

You know, I’ve wondered about the Rufus thing ever since I found your blog! But I was afraid to ask, thinking that probably it had already been explained in some earlier post.

so, I am very glad to see the mystery solved, Mr. Greg Rufus!

as to the egg cups, I wish I had elaborate breakfasts more often – we did when my husband’s kids lived with us, a Sunday event, usually pancakes. But they are all grownup now, and we never do it for just the two of us… this recipe sounds just too good,,,

This would be a great quick dinner too. We normally have two meals on Sunday, a brunch and a dinner and sometimes a light snack in the middle of the afternoon. As for Rufus, he’s used to being called that now and not everyone is going to catch every post! So he’ll continue to answer to it I’m sure.

The pancetta and toast cups look luscious! Actually they are a bit similar to my bread baskets with eggs. It might be a great idea of modifying my usual recipe. Thank your for unveiling the Rufus mystery!

Oh my gosh, the first definition is cool or anything awesome. But definition No. 5: “a partially smoked bowl of marijuana, usually found later by the same smoker.” You’ve shed new light on my middle name. All these years, we just thought it was a popular dog’s name.

Katherine, this looks great! I was part of the group that wondered how ‘Rufus’ came to be part of the blog! I so enjoy your stories – the family historian in me – and your recipes, of course! I am in awe of the volume and quality of blogs you produce! I enjoy each and every one!

What a glorious weekend breakfast. My kitchen is being torn apart at the moment and I would give ANYTHING to have eaten that for breakfast. The egg looks cooked to absolute perfection. Have a great week Katherine. And thank you for solving the “Rufus” mystery. I honestly thought the name was perhaps from one of your dogs. Sorry for that revelation Greg. —Take care!

HAhaha… I have seriously been wondering who Rufus is after finding out you’re Greg and Katherine! thanks for sharing this little bit of info with us and I love this breakfast too! Am going to make it soon – I use normal sliced ham but pancetta sounds delicious.

We’ll I’m glad I’m catching up on my emails b/c I would have missed the meaning of Rufus. Cute post and cute pancetta egg cups. I made these with Canadian bacon for the kids on Dr. Seuss B-day but added some green veggies for green eggs and ham!🙂